TLoS: Forging Anew
by TimberlineWolf
Summary: Long ago, the dragons split into two factions. now, after two thousand years, they re-remember each other. What happens when the coutry of war re-meets the country of knowledge?
1. Prolouge: A Storm is Brewing

**AN: Hello! This is TimberlineWolf, here with my very first upload! (fluttershy yay) now, I'm rather new to this, and I'm still trying to find my stride and all that. This may be a bit slow at first until I actually figure out what I'm doing with this. So, if you flame, you will be ignored plain and simple, though I don't see much of a target in what's here just yet, but ya' never know with some people. If you like this, please tell me what about it you like. Remember this is essentially a prologue, so not much to it yet. And if you've bothered to actually read all this instead of skipping right to the story, 1 thank you, 2 please read the ending AN**

**Oh and I suppose I ought to do one of those stupid disclaimer thinggies 'sigh'**

**I don't own the rights to spyro or anything that actually has to do with the game, and I never will. Much to my great disappointment**

**NOW LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

_**The Legend of Spyro: Forging Anew**_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Story Begins~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

"Curse of the Ancestors! How much farther is that benighted beach!" the complaint of the flying red dragon was heard by no one but the air as he flew alone across the sea. "If I wasn't already planning on going there I never would've accepted their stupid 'proposal'." He complained to himself as he thought back to the events that had occurred a few days before he'd left for the new land...

_'He'd only told a few others about his decision to leave for the neighboring country. But apparently it was enough for the Defenders to get whiff of it. A few days before he left, he was summoned, rather rudely but that was no surprise, to the Defenders' Court. Apparently, they, having heard of his decision, decided to make use of it. They were going to make him an envoy of the Ictharellian government, sent to make contact with the other side and broach the idea of a possible alliance between them, and also to send word back of the state of things there after the Great Disaster. For compensation of this task, they were going to give him one of their rare Reivawk eggs normally reserved for the nobility, such as it was, and to provide supplies for the journey there. He'd accepted the appointment primarily because he was already going and he'd always wanted a Reivawk of his own. He'd thought his idle dream mere fantasy for an outcast like himself.'_

His ruminations found themselves cut short as he finally spotted land, thirty miles away. With his spirits lifted, he renewed his efforts, once again thankful for his stamina he'd built up in the forge, as well as for the miserly generous supply of mana gems the Defenders were willing to give him for the journey. They'd almost run out, nobody had expected the trip to take so long. Three weeks is a pretty long time to stay in the air. At least there was at least one island every three days or so where he could rest. The one time he couldn't and passed out over the water, he woke up on some weird island and had a pleasant rest and chat with some hermit type fellow named Ignitus. Wonderfully pleasant fellow, though he seemed to give off the air of knowing more than he said. As the red dragon made to take his leave, Ignitus bade him wait a moment.

_"You wouldn't by any chance happen to be going to the dragon city of Warfang would you?" The red dragon gave a nod. _

_"Or at least, I am if that's the capital." Ignitus grinned a little._

_"Indeed it is my young friend. And, since you are going there anyway, could you be so kind as to deliver a few messages to a few people? Don't worry you shouldn't have to look too hard. You'll be meeting them there anyways." Red pondered this for a moment, and decided that he liked this old geezer, was perfectly willing to grant his request, and stated as such. At least that last part he did. Ignitus grinned a little wider at this._

_"Wonderful! Could you please tell Spyro and Cynder that I said 'Hello, from the White Isles'. You should be able to recognize them fairly easily. They're the only two with purple and black, respectively, as their main color. Oh, and when you see them, tell the Guardians I said 'Hi' as well." Laughing a bit he continued "That'll throw them all for a bit of a loop I wager" He was now grinning like a fool. Red just raised his brow at this. "Your saying 'Hi' will throw them all for loop? I feel I must inquire as to your reasoning good sir." Ignitus laughed at the overly polite question. "It's really quite simple you see. The thing is, they think I'm dead!" Chuckling to himself some more, he looked up at the sky and sobered a bit. "You should get going now. There's a storm brewing. You'll have to get the details from Spyro and Cynder when you get there. Farewell my young friend. May the Ancestors look after you, may they look after us all." With that, the hermit went back to his home, wherever that was, back on the island._

The sound of thunder behind him caused him to look back, his eye widening at the looming thunderheads. The storm that the old dragon had foretold was slow in the making. It had been several days since he'd left the hermits island. Now, however, it was so close he could feel the static charge in the air, along with the oppressive density from the excess water vapor. Continuing to observe the oncoming storm, he estimated it was moving at about ten miles an hour at least. When he turned back to the mainland to gauge its distance, he was pleasantly surprised to find it a mere fifteen miles away. More than enough time to get there before the storm hit him if his estimate was correct.

As he flew, he repeated looked back to scan the approaching storm. He just couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about it.

**AN: OKAY! So, that is the first chapter of my maybe story Forging Anew. Now to clarify a few things. The characters name is NOT RED! I am simply using that as a placeholder since I'm not formally introducing him 'till later on, you have to admit, Red is a lot faster and easier to write than 'the red dragon'. Now I have no idea when I'll be posting the next chapter, since I don't really know when I'll get an idea for it. So until then…**

**TTFN!**

**ps. i just discovered that i hate this text editor thinggie, it won't let me put 'tab's in ****.=.**


	2. Chapter 1: Master Smith

AN: Hello! This is TimberlineWolf, here with Chapter 1! (fluttershy yay) I actually got reviews! Two of them! (fs yay) so, before I do anything else, I would like to thank MarchenHope and Cynder Fan for their reviews. Also, wait, wait no that's it. I've nothing else to say. ;P And if you've bothered to actually read all this instead of skipping right to the story, 1 thank you, 2 please read the ending AN

Oh and I suppose I ought to do one of those stupid disclaimer thinggies 'sigh'  
>I don't own the rights to spyro or anything that actually has to do with the game, and I never will. Much to my great disappointment<p>

NOW LET"S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!

_**The Legend of Spyro: Forging Anew**_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Story Continues~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

Considering that he'd just saved the world from disaster, Spyro was feeling quite nice. He'd woken up in the peaceful valley of Avalar with Cynder curled up next to him. He smiled down upon the beautiful being beside him. During his dreams he had remembered what she said to him in the center of the earth. I Love You. The words in his mind seemed to make his heart flutter in his chest. Deciding that it was safe while she was still asleep, he lowered his head to hers and said gently, "I love you too Cynder. I would do just about anything for you." And, deciding to dare just a little more, he kissed her on her muzzle.

Of course what he didn't realize was that she was awake the whole time, and not a second after his kiss she brought her lips right to his and kissed him back. Needless to say he was quite surprised, but at least it was pleasantly so. After she broke the kiss, she opened her eyes, smiling lovingly at him and said, "I'm glad to hear it, purple boy." This last part was said with a slight giggle on her part, followed by a chuckle on his.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Cynder asked her purple companion. A rumble from his stomach was her immediate response. He grinned sheepishly.

"Right now? Eat." This was immediately concurred upon by the even louder rumble from her own belly. To which she blushed slightly. He just laughed.

"Wait here. I see what I can find us." With that he disappeared into the surrounding trees.

After about a half hours time, he trudged back to Cynder, hauling a deer behind him as he did so. Dropping the carcass next to her he said, "Hey Cynder! I think I found us a place to stay for a while."

"Oh? Where?...What?" That last in response to his having stopped her from eating the deer.

"Nothing. I just thought you might like me to cook it for you first is all." With that, he set fire to the deer at a low controlled temperature. Making sure to keep an eye on the deer to keep it from overcooking, he lay back down next to Cynder and continued.

"There's a cave not too far from here. Pretty deep too I think. I didn't want to explore to much while you were waiting for me." He grinned. "And now I believe it is time for us to eat."

On that note, he put out the deer and presented it to her with a flourish. She giggled at his fancy showmanship, and stepped up next to him with a slight snuggle. Both blushing, they began to eat.

As they finished eating, the calm and pleasant mood was disturbed by the sound of thunder. LOUD thunder. Startled, they looked up to see a massive storm heading in from the eastern mountains. Cynder, not particularly fond of storms anymore since her time in Concurrent Skies, looked at Spyro and suggested they find that nice dry cave of his. Spyro, not really looking forward to getting wet as much as Cynder, agreed wholeheartedly to her proposition.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Finally! Solid ground at last!" The adolescent red dragon heaved a great sigh of relief as he landed at last. His relief was short lived however, as he looked back at the storm which had gained considerably on him. "Cursed thing! It doubled its speed in less than fifteen minutes! Now, where to weather this beast?" Closing his eye, he concentrated on his earth powers to determine the area around him, and find a place to sleep. To his pleasant surprise, he found a cave about a half-mile inland. A very deep cave too. Perfect. He always did like cave exploring. Grinning to himself, he took off at a trot towards the cave, keeping his eye out for anything edible and an ear open for a hint of fresh water. Though, he thought to himself, I'm sure the storm will provide plenty if I prepare a place for it.

His luck was ever with him here it seemed, as not five minutes in, he came across a moose, which he quickly dispatched and proceeded to lift up on his back, securing it with vines. Once he was sure it was properly secured, he hoisted himself up and back into a trot towards the cave.

When he arrived 15 minutes later, the very outer edge of the storm was just hitting. Releasing the moose inside the cave, he went back outside, and using his earth powers, made a sizable trough to collect the rainwater roughly four feet long, three feet deep, and two feet wide. Back inside the cave, he made himself a nice big fire to warm himself, and to later use to cook the moose.

He'd always prided himself on his cooking ability, and his ability to obtain wide varieties of herbs, spices, and vegetables was most of what had supported him before he took up the forge, and found his remarkable affinity for it. Though he still sold his produce, it was supplemental to his career at the forge. Though most of the males looked down upon him for the element he possessed, those at the forge had come to respect him simply for the outstanding work he wrought. And he was uniquely suited for it. Having a tailblade that was also a hammer, and metallic pincers on his wings where most had thumbs or blades, which he used as tongs for handling the red hot metal, gave him a distinct advantage over most in the field. His work was so renowned, in fact, that once even the Master Smith, Gajeel, came to inspect his work. He had stated that it was the best he'd ever seen, baring his own of course. In fact, he showed so much that Gajeel said if it wasn't for his unfortunate errant element, he would've offered to take the young dragon in as his apprentice! To the young dragon, this was seen as the greatest praise he could have ever dreamed of. He wasn't even that upset that the Master Smith had dismissed his eligibility simply because of his unwanted element.

Now that he thought about it, he had met Gajeel again, three days before he left:  
><em>He was surprised Gajeel still remembered his name after eleven years. The subject of the Master Smiths visit was even more intriguing. Apparently he had heard from the Defenders that he was leaving, and had come to inspect how much he had improved since he last saw him. The young male, not wanting to disappoint his eleven years role model, immediately brought him to the forge he'd installed himself in his home, explaining as he did so that he had tried his best to model it after the Masters' own workplace, making everything himself from scratch.<em>

_The Master took note of everything there, and was somewhat unsuccessful in masking how impressed he was with the young dragons' skill. As he surveyed the room, he noted with interest the piles of odd contraptions piled somewhat neatly in the scrap pile. When asked what they were, the young smith blushed a bit, though it was somewhat hard to tell under the red scales, answering that it was a project he was working on, and that those were the failed attempts. The Master seemed so intrigued in them that the young dragon offered them to him, that he might study them and better obtain the young smiths thoughts and processes. The old smith was indeed curious as to the boys' methods and processes, so he accepted the gift graciously. The young red, taking pride in the fact that the old dragon was actually interested in his work, decided he was going to try again. He'd been thinking on it the last few days, and he thought he might have figured out the problem. Clearing his throat to get the old dragons attention, he stated that he was about to begin, should he choose to watch. Given that this was, in fact, the reason for his visit in the first place, he set down the odd contraption he was looking at, walked over and motion for the young smith to proceed._

_Over the next several hours, the Master Smith watched the young red manipulate small pieces of metal and wire with his tongs, hammer-tail, and paws. When he was finished, the elder was astonished to see a small, mechanical dragon, no bigger than a yearling, but proportioned like an adult, standing on the workbench. But what really caught his interest was when the young dragon reached into a drawer, pulled out two mana capacitors, one large and green, the other a smaller pale blue grey, and, with a muttered, "Here goes, let's hope this works this time," inserted the crystals into slots in the device on the table. What happened next astonished them both. With the insertion of the crystals, the mechanical dragon shuddered, and came to life! Its eyes lit with a soft blue-green glow, it chirped, stretched like a cat, and began to examine its surroundings like a curious child. The Master Smith was speechless with astonishment. He had never, in all his years, seen something to match this young dragons brilliance. The young dragon however was simply ecstatic. He had finally managed to create a perfect, life-like dragon, out of metal and magic, something he had been working on for the past three years with no success. He put his paw out to it, and it sniffed it, then nuzzled it! Chirping happily as it did so. Deciding that he couldn't part with her, he decided it was a her, it resolved to make two for the Master Smith._

_Setting her aside, he gathered the necessary pieces, to the confusion of the elder, and, in half the time, had two more finished units ready. Needless to say the elder was surprised at the young dragons speed and alacrity; he was also thoroughly pleased when the young red presented the two to him as a gift. The red explained that he made two so that the elder would have one he could take apart to examine, and still have one around that was animate. After that, the young dragon gave two capacitor crystals identical to the ones he had used earlier. He said that since they were his now, he should choose which of the two he wanted to examine, and which he wanted animate, then he showed him where and how to install the crystals. With that he turned back to his own girl, only to find her across the room, rooting through his pile of scrap metal. When he went over to see what she was up to, she looked up at him to reveal a piece of metal in her mouth. To his astonishment, she quickly sucked it in, then chewed and swallowed it! He had never expected that function to kick in so suddenly. He had designed them so that they could be completely self-sufficient, being able to repair damage done to their structure and capable of replenishing the magic that continued them. In short, they were, in every sense of the word, alive! When he turned back to the elder, he was puzzled to see the Master Smith walk up to him with a letter in his paw. And with that came the words he never thought to hear._

_"Young Dragon, what you have shown me here today surpasses anything else I have ever seen in all my centuries. By the power vested in me by my title as Master Smith, I bequeath unto you the same. You are now a Master Smith of the country of Ictharell."_

He smiled as he reminisced over his new title as he ate the now cooked and seasoned moose. He was interrupted when he heard an insistent chirping from one of his saddle bags. It seemed Brass was awake. He opened his saddle bag to let her out, and she immediately pounced upon him. The little mechanoid had developed quite the personality in her three weeks of life. She was like a child, constantly wanting affection and play. She was a delight to his eyes, and he idly wondered if this was what it felt like be a father. In a way he was her father, and mother. After all he had given her life hadn't he?

He finished his dinner, then covered the leftovers in dome of rock to keep out scavengers. He decided to call it a night and called Brass over to him. When she was all snuggled up nice and comfortable to him, he curled around her and went to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Spyro and Cynder woke up, they found, to their dismay, that the storm had not lessened in the slightest. If anything, it seemed to be at its peak. They were even more upset when they realized that one of them still had to go out and get something for them to eat. But, Spyro, ever the gentleman, elected to go out in the downpour and try and find them some food. Cynder, about to protest, faltered slightly when a rather loud clap of thunder resounded through the cave. After that she just let him go.

After waiting an hour she was starting to worry. Where was he? She had just decided that if he wasn't back in another hour then she would have to go out looking for him, when she heard the strangest thing from further down the cave. A very small chirping noise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Brass! Get back here!" The young dragon called to his mischievous little companion. They'd awoken some two hour prior, and after having eaten the rest of the moose, and had a drink from his rain trough, he had decided that since it was still pouring outside, that they would explore the cave now. Brass, it seemed, like exploring caves about as much as she liked everything else. This of course meant that the young dragon was constantly reeling her back in when she ran too far ahead. Which was, to say the least, not an uncommon occurrence. He stopped as he waited for her to run back to him, and took the opportunity to survey the area around him. His 'ground sense' as he punningly called it, had a range of about five to six miles. He could sense anything within that area, providing it was touching the ground that is. This included anything from mineral and ore deposits, to cavities in the rock and other living things.

What intrigued him however, was that, according to his ground sense, this cave was not, in reality, a cave at all. It was a tunnel. And it was long enough that he couldn't sense the other end yet. By his ground sense, he could tell that they'd covered about four miles in their forty-five minutes of travel. Seeing as he sensed nothing of any danger within the next five to six miles, he decided to pick up the pace a bit. He took off at a canter when Brass arrived, to get a bit of leg work in. After all he had barely used them in three weeks' time. Brass seemed thrilled at the increase in speed and took to trying to race him down the tunnel, chirping excitedly as ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Cynder strained to hear the thing that was chirping in the cave, she could swear that it was getting louder. Since she was going crazy waiting for Spyro to get back, and she still had plenty of time before she had to go out looking for him, she decided to investigate deeper into the cave and find out what it was that was in there. Slowly and cautiously, she made her way deeper into the cave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Brass! Hold up!" he whispered to his small mechanical companion. They had been racing each other for about an hour, covering a good twenty-three miles in doing so. However, it seemed that something was coming towards them from the opposite end of the tunnel. It was just within his ground sense, but he believed it was a young dragoness, judging by the weight of the steps and the length of her stride, as well as her gait. She appeared to be moving cautiously, as if uncertain what lay ahead. This, being in a cave of unknown dimensions, state of inhabitance, and stability to anyone without a ground sense like his, was on the whole rather a smart way to go.

Deciding he may as well try and make contact with her, he continued on at a brisk walk, making sure to tell Brass to keep quiet in a low whisper.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder had been going for about half an hour, she paused briefly when the chirping she'd been going to investigate suddenly stopped, though she could have sworn she heard someone say something at the same time, it was to hushed by distance to make it out. Still curious, she began to make her way deeper again. After about fifteen minutes later, she thought she could make out the sound of pads on stone, as well as the clicking of something much smaller and faster against the stone floor. Two minutes after that, her breath caught in her throat. From deep within the darkest parts of the cave, a small red light appeared, as well as two much smaller very dim blue green lights bobbing up and down near the floor. And they were coming closer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Hmm, that's interesting.' He thought to himself as he noted that the dragoness had stopped moving entirely now, and seemed to be under a great deal of stress, if the increased shaking was any indication. Checking her relative position again, he realized with a start what she was probably seeing. A bunch of floating colored lights with no discernible source. He chuckled silently to himself.

Deciding that increasing their pace would only frighten the poor girl more, he kept the same staid pace as before. She would be able to see him in about fifteen minutes anyway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder sat there stock still as the things continued to approach her. No matter her powers of shadow, she could not know what the blackness held. As she sat there screaming in her head to get up and MOVE, she gradually got the feeling that these lights meant her no harm. And so fifteen minutes later, after she had finally started to get a grip on herself again, she saw just what the lights were as a dragon stepped just close enough to her that she could barely make out his figure.

"Hello there." Came a rather friendly, deep voice. "Might you know where exit to this benighted tunnel is?"

AN: okay, so that was chapter 2 of my maybe story Forging Anew. Now to clarify a few things. I know I said last time that I'd introduce the red guy this chapter, but this had such a nice ending here, that it seemed a shame to waste it. Plus it means that I can post it tonight, instead of tomorrow. Brass is MINE! NO STEALING! GRRR! Oh! And if you can guess where I got the name 'Gajeel' and the term 'ground sense', you'll get a cookie and a fluttershy yay ; ). Now, once again I have no idea when I'll be posting the next chapter, since I don't really know when I'll get an idea for it.(though the way things are going, it'll prolly be soon). So until then…

TTFN!

ps: if anyone knows how to put in tabs in this editor, i'd be very grateful if you could tell me. this is getting kinda ridiculous


	3. Chapter 2: Colonel

**AN: Hello! This is TimberlineWolf, here with Chapter 2! (fluttershy yay) Once again, I would like to thank Cynder Fan for his review. Also, as promised, the mystery male gets a name! And if you've bothered to actually read all this instead of skipping right to the story, 1 thank you, 2 please read the ending AN**

**Oh and I suppose I ought to do one of those stupid disclaimer thinggies 'sigh'  
>I don't own the rights to spyro or anything that actually has to do with the game, and I never will. Much to my great disappointment<strong>

**NOW LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!**

_**The Legend of Spyro: Forging Anew**_

_**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Story Continues~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**_

"Hello there." He said in a rather friendly, voice. "Might you know where exit to this benighted tunnel is?"

Immediately after hearing this, whatever tension was left in the mystery dragoness seemed to melt away. As she took a few moments to recompose herself fully, he took the chance to get a better look at her. Standing a head and a half shorter than himself, she had a rather lithe figure, and a series of six horns wreathing her head, and what appeared to be metal bracers on her lower forelimbs, neck, and tail. Though he had near perfect night vision, that did not, alas, include the ability to see color where there was no visible light to be had at all, such as in the depths of a twelve to thirteen mile long tunnel.

He refocused his attention when he noticed she was about to answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder took a last steadying breath before replying, "If the other entrance was in the direction you just came from, then yes. It's about an hours' walk back the way I came." As the word 'hour' passed her lips she had a terrible realization. She had forgotten about Spyro! She was supposed to have been out looking for him by now, and even if he had shown up while she was in here, she had left him no way of knowing where she was! No note, or sign of any kind. What if he had come back, found her missing, and gone haring of back into the rain on a wild goose chase trying to find her! Her obvious distress was not lost on the, at least if she gauged him correctly, slightly older male.

"What happens to be the problem miss?" He inquired in a suitably concerned voice.

"My friend went out into the rain a couple hours ago to get some breakfast for us. But when I went down here an hour ago, he still hadn't come back yet. It just occurred to me that if he came back while I was in here, he would have had no idea where I was and gone off back into the rain to look for me." She said in a, though only slightly to her relief, high pitched panic.

"Well, we can't have that now, can we? If it's still raining as hard as it was when I left, then this is most certainly no weather for anybody to be out in. Hmm, he's not shown up since we met, nor anytime within the past half hour I'd wager. Let's go to the entrance, I'll see if I can't find him from there." Immediately thereafter, he began to move briskly in the direction Cynder had come from. "Are you coming? Or shall I tell your friend that you're paralyzed in a frothing tizzy over her boyfriend's absence? Brass, come along now, I'm sure the young lady doesn't appreciate your crowding her."

Still astonished by the abruptness of it all, it was only then that Cynder noticed the male was not, in fact, alone. Looking down at her front paws she finally discovered the source of the odd chirping noise. Scampering away towards the odd male was a small yearling, also apparently the source the tiny bouncing blue green lights, as it looked back at her chirping, revealing a pair of glowing blue green eyes. It chirped at her again, then turned back to the male and continued its scamper to him.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she quickly made her way back to join the two. When she finally made it beside him, he said, "Sorry about that whole tizzy comment. I just wanted to snap you out of that frenzied stupor you seemed to be developing back there." And then before she could respond, "Brass will you leave her alone! You'll have plenty of time to investigate later in the light. If she agrees that is." This last appeared to be directed at her, for when she looked up from the yearling to see him looking at her questioningly. When she finally got what he was asking, she replied simply. "I have no problem with children."

His response puzzled her. Chuckling he said, "Brass isn't exactly you normal hatchling. Just wait 'till you really see her." With that he just kept walking. It was then that something fully sank in.

"Hey? How did you know that he hadn't shown up while we were talking?" she asked suspiciously.

"How 'bout I tell you all that fun stuff after I find him and bring him back, hmm? I'd rather avoid explaining it more than once if I can avoid it, and telling you both at the same time seems to be a sufficient method of doing so. I'll intro duce myself then as well, if you don't mind. Now, if you could please give me a description of his physical buildup. Age, height, weight, length, etc."

Still a little suspicious but willing to let it go for now, she gave him a description of Spyros build compared to his and hers. He thanked her kindly and then requested that she not talk to him for a bit so he might try to locate her friend.

Just as they were nearing the entrance of the cave he let out a small 'ha' and proclaimed, "Found Him! Bugger must've been flying till now, for him to just 'appear' like that." He turned toward her and queried, "By the way, who shall I be telling this friend of yours sent me?"

After a moment of puzzlement, she realized he was asking her name. "Cynder. My name is Cynder."

As soon as he heard her name, something in his tone changed, "Cynder is it? Huh, I wonder. Would your friends name just by chance happen to be Spyro?"

She stared at him in shock; where they famous already? Instead she said, "Um, yes, in fact. His name is Spyro. How did you know?" hoping that this stranger might provide some hint as to what would be awaiting them in Warfang when they got back. His reply only served to confuse her more.

"Wonderful! That hermit wasn't lying when he said I'd run into you two eventually. Though I don't think even he thought it would be this soon. Because, you see, I have a message for the two of you from a friend of yours. Brass! Come along now. We need to get you back in your pouch and keep you dry."

With that, the little yearling hopped up into the saddlebag he held open for her. Once he was sure she was nice and comfortable, he reached into his other pack, and pulled out an odd little shaped piece of metal, he then appeared to break it in half and present her with one.

"What is this?" She asked, taking the piece and examining it. He grinned at her.

"I call it a Node" He said, attaching his piece to a frame around his shoulders. "It's something I came up with back home, round two months back. It's a long range communication device. You simply talk into it, and whoever has the other half, namely me, can hear you and vice versa. This way I can let you know when I find Spyro." Looking around, he added, "By the way, as it seems Spyro was unsuccessful with his hunt, do you want me to bring you two anything food wise? I can guarantee you it'll be here within an hour of my bringing him back." Turning his gaze back to her, he awaited her response. At a grumble from both their stomachs was the only answer he received before saying, "Actually I think I'll get something for all of us. I'm rather hungry myself from all that running Brass and I did in that tunnel. I'll call you when I spot Spyro." With that, he stretched, and took off into the pouring rain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spyro was _not_ a happy dragon. He had been searching for three hours now, and had still nothing to show for it. It seemed that all the prey was gone, trying to keep dry from the constant rainfall in their dens and burrows. The problem was, the deluge that was keeping the prey from coming out, was also drenching the pour dragon, sucking whatever warmth he managed to attain away as quickly as it came. However his most pressing problem, it seemed, was that he was lost. The rain was so heavy that it obscured from view anything that was more than 5 meters away. Until this rain stopped, it seemed he'd have no choice but to find some modicum of shelter and try to wait it out. He didn't want to worry Cynder, but it was pretty obvious to him that if continued on the way he was going, he'd never find her before he collapsed of hypothermia.

Thinking back, he remembered having passed a rather sizable pine tree a few minutes back. Remembering that pine trees make better shelters than any of the other trees he happened across, he made his way back to it. Roughly ten minutes later, he finally found it, and, gratefully, made his way under its sheltering braches. His relief was short lived.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"About time you got here." Said the red dragon as the purple made his way under the branches to the relatively dry patch beneath. He had spotted the young male some five minutes ago from the air. Deciding to watch for a minute to see just what the fellow was up to, he landed and discovered with his ground sense that Spyro was entirely unwell. His gait, posture, and speed were all indicators of mild hypothermia, a very serious threat in weather such as this. Realizing that he was heading towards the shelter of a nearby pine, he went ahead to prepare things for him. He had a small little fire going and had even gotten out some of his travel rations and last remaining health and mana crystals for him. He would probably never make the journey back without them.

Immediately after hearing him, the purple tensed and got into as much of a battle stance as he could manage, given the condition he was in. "Who are you?" He asked in as threatening a voice as he could muster.

"Ah, you at least still have some wits about you. That's a very good sign. Don't worry, I'm a friend. Your Lady Cynder sent me out to retrieve you from this dreadful downpour." He said motioning to the obvious outside, "However I find it ill advisable for you to travel anywhere out there in your current condition. Here, let's get yourself warm and have a little food to stave off the hypothermia until we can get you back to your lady, hmm?" He motioned to the small, but now heavenly feeling, fire and to the food and crystals he had set aside for him.

Afterwards he disengaged the node from his harness and spoke into it, "Cynder? You there?" He noted how Spyro immediately looked up from warming his paws in front of the fire at the mention of his Lady's name. a small pause.

"Y-Yes?" she asked hesitantly, almost as if she were afraid it would bite her. He chuckled a bit at this. "Come now Cynder. It's only a magic piece of metal. It won't bite." He waited for her response, continuing to watch Spyros reaction surreptitiously. Another pause.

"Yes I know that, but it still feels odd talking to you when you're not here. Did you find him yet? Is he alright?" She seemed suddenly very forceful with these last questions.

He grinned broadly, "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he asked continuing to grin as he walked over to Spyro and handing him the node. "Just talk into it as you saw me do and she will hear you." He instructed before going back to his previous spot, still grinning like mad.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spyro was utterly flummoxed. He had never seen anything like this before. And, possibly due to the cold and hypothermia, the only thought he could manage to grasp out of the jumble in his head was…

"Volteer is gonna have fits and spasms when he finds out about this." What he didn't realize, however, was that he was out of it just enough that he had actually said out loud. That is, until Cynders melodious laughter chimed through the node at him.

"Ya' know? I was thinking the same thing just now!" she sighed, a little calmer for it, "I'm so glad he found you. Spyro where have you been? I've been worried sick over you! Are you all right?" Her worry over his safety, though heartwarming, was also wrenching in that he had caused it.

"I'm sorry to make you worry Cynder. I'm fine, I just need to get warmed up a bit and then we can head back. It seems I got myself lost in the rain while trying to catch us some breakfast. Visibility out in this is horrendous; I can't see more than ten feet away! I'm sorry I wasn't able to find us anything to eat though. It seems all the animals were smart and are spending the day sheltered from the storm." He was about to continue when he was interrupted by the sound of the other male clearing his throat. He looked up to see he had traveled back to Spyro and was politely motioning for him to hand back the peculiar talking device. "he says he wants to talk to you. I'm hand him the thing now."

"Node. He calls it a node. Bye." She said just before he handed it to him.

"Hello again. Now a couple things before I hang up, stop talking. He is not quite as well as he thinks, though he's probably not aware of it fully himself. He has a mild case of hypothermia from all that time in the rain. Now it's not too serious right now so he will recover. WITH PLENTY OF WARMTH AND BEDREST!" This last appeared to be directed mostly at Spyro, but how could he know…?

"You'll hear no argument there from me!" Came Cynders near immediate, and forceful, response, and she continued, "How'd you know he hates that bed rest stuff?"

"A shrewd observation." He chuckled, then glanced back at Spyro. "He does not appear very pleased to have lost an ally" He observed to her.

"Oh, let him be unhappy! I will not have him confessing to me after he saves the world from destruction, just to have him go and kill himself of hypothermia and stubborn stupidity a week later! You Hear Me Spyro the Purple Dragon? I WILL NOT HAVE IT!" A few moments of panting followed and then, "you be sure and bring him back alive now, you hear. I will tolerate you far less than him if he's dead when he gets here."

"Yes Ma'am!" he said in his, quite ingrained, military voice, though he was grinning like fool while doing so. It was a bit of an odd juxtaposition. Continuing in the same manner he said, "We shall be leaving shortly. Will that be all Ma'am?"

Only slightly taken aback by his militaristic tone, she replied smoothly, "No. That will be all. Carry on Colonel."

That last had taken them all by surprise. For Spyro and Cynder, it was obvious that the militant tone had unearthed a habit born from when she was the general of Malefors' forces. To the red male however, it also obvious that she had done that before. But what shocked him most, was that she had known his old rank. How had she known that he was a Colonel? That was a decade and a half ago! Had his tone given it away? It was extremely unlikely to all but the most practiced ears and eyes, but supposed it was possible. But he had heard her tone too. She was younger than he by at least three years, and yet, her tone was that of a General! How was that possible! And now that he thought about it, Spyro stance, back when he first met him, if it weren't for the hypothermia, it would've been that of a Lt. Colonel at least! If not full Colonel same as himself. These two had seen war alright. But at such a young age? Even in Ictharell, you weren't sent out into battle against more than minor opponents and other officers until you were at least twenty. That was, at least, if you were normal. He broke his train of thought at that and turned to see Spyro staring at him curiously, having finished all the food he'd been given.

"Something wrong? You look, tense." The young purple inquired of the older male.

"Nothing major. Just lost in thought. Come on. Now that you're done eating we should get going."

"But," the purple protested slightly, "how do you know which way we're going? Visibility out there is almost nil!"

'He even knows some pseudo lingo too, interesting' "Don't worry about that right now, I'll tell you both when we get there. Just stay on the Ground! Follow me, and try to keep up. I want you out in that rain as little as possible or I'll have hell to pay from your little Lady General! Move Out!" This last was delivered in his best Colonels voice, and with that he jogged out into the rain in the direction of the cave; followed very closely by Spyro.

As an afterthought, the Colonel took his node out and stated, in the same brisk tone, "Moving out now. ETA is thirty minutes."

Almost immediately he received, "Very good Colonel. See you then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder was waiting for them when they arrived. Sitting poised and perfect as the odd male walked to her and, grinning sardonically, bowed before her, curling his head down next to his left foreleg, and stating, "Mission Success, General. I have delivered the target objective."

"Very good Colonel. Excellent work. I want a _**full **_debriefing after this." Her tone was so laden with meaning that he grinned all the more.

"Of course Ma'am. I did promise before after all." Turning back to Spyro who lay panting and shivering on the cold stone floor, he dropped all pretense. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a fellow officer to save."

Cynder watched closely as the stranger carefully manipulated the earth with his element, he made a wide shallow depression in the cave floor. She a little surprised at this as she had expected him to be a fire element to match his red hide. To her further interest, he then appeared to summon various colored minerals from the earth filling the bowl in the floor. And then he breathed fired on it, and it caught! Well that answered her question of where he was going to find dry wood in this weather, and bring it back in the same condition. He wasn't! she was about to go over and help him move Spyro closer to the fire, when he simply moved his paw, and the floor beneath Spyro shifted over to him! Who _was_ this dragon? It was then that he turned to her and said, "He needs to be kept warm. Stay close to him while I'm gone. Something else he needs is a hot meal." With that, he left back out into the rain again.

Suddenly overcome with worry for her loves savior, she picked the node and said, "You be careful out there you here? I'll not have you disappearing on me too."

Her only reply was a simple, "Yes Ma'am."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Target achieved. Returning home now. ETA is twenty-five minutes." It had been a little less than that since he had left the cave to bring them all some food

"Better make that fifteen Colonel. Patients' condition is worsening. Cynder out."

'Ancestors Above! She's acting as if she's done this for years! What kind of childhood did those two even have!' "Roger that Cynder. Picking up the pace. Colonel out" 'That's an interesting notion for ending transmission.' He thought as he ran full pelt towards the cave with two deer tied to his back by vines. 'It's not part of any current lingo that I'm aware of, I wonder where she picked it up'

As he ran, he saw a rather sizable pitcher plant. Thinking of an important use for it, he used his element to eject from the ground and into his path, where he deftly picked it up with his tail as he passed.

Roughly eight minutes later, he arrived back at the cave. Panting slightly from his short run, he made his way in and released the vines holding the deer to his back. Checking on the fire briefly, he was not very pleased to see that it had all but died out already. "Busted Bellows! I thought I put more fuel in that." Tapping into his element once again, he discovered something he berated himself for missing the first time. A coal deposit. What better fuel for a fire than the material used in his own forge furnace. With a little effort he managed to summon up a decent quantity of the material into a pile on the floor and placed a portion it on what remained of the fire, making sure it caught with a length of fire breath.

"How bad is he?" he asked, walking over to where Spyro lay with Cynder curled up next to him with her wing draped over him like a blanket.

"Not good. He's still stone cold and insisting he's fine. Keeps on muttering about how he has to go fight Malefor and save the world; which makes no sense because we already beat him two days ago. His breathing's getting huffy and weak, as well as his pulse." She looked back down at him in deep concern, then looked more closely at his face, "and there's something wrong with his eyes. The pupils are too wide." Then she looked back at him with a worry so deep it nearly stopped his heart for a beat. "He stopped shivering just before you got here."

This last made him stop cold. This was not good. He was in severe danger if that was the case. He cursed and looked around the cave trying to see what he could do to make things warmer. Coming to a decision, he set to work molding the surrounding earth and rock with his element, saying as he did so, "Cynder, I need you to talk to him. Ask him math questions, history problems, anything you can think of to bring his mind back to reality. Personal questions work best for this sort of thing so I'll leave you to it. Stay close to him, but try not to jostle him any. Do you have any control over fire or heat?"

"No. just shadow, poison, fear, and wind."

This last made him brighten ever so slightly. "Wind. Wind is good. If you can manipulate the air then you can warm it up a bit. If you don't know how to yet, then at least it's still helpful to some extent." He paused in his work just long enough to mold a tube in the ground running from an opening near Cynder, to another directly under the fire. "If you blow wind through that hole it'll make the fire burn hotter for a while. Just don't do it too often, or the fire will use up its fuel to fast." With that he put some more coal on the fire and went back to his work on his previous project.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder wasn't paying much attention to the Colonel as she was mostly focused on Spyro and following the instructions she'd been given.

"Spyro? Spyro, can you hear me?" A muffled grunt. "Spyro I need you to wake up. I can't find your brother. Do you know where he is?" This got rise out of him it seemed.

"Sparx? Why'd'you wanna talk'ta him? Thought you'tssoo 'ated easch'ther. B'sides, I'm much more fun than th't li'le loud mouth." This last was slurred out with a small grin starting. Heartened slightly by his misplaced humor she forged on.

"Spyro, do you know where his? I need to tell him something important."

"wud'ya need to tell 'im? I c'n tell 'im wh'n I ssee 'im."

"That won't work. I need to tell him myself. Do you know where he is Spyro?"

"H's in Warf'ng. we left 'm there when we went to fight… Male-for." Her questions seemed to be working somewhat, his speech seemed to be improving somewhat at least. Though the way he'd said Malefor seemed odd at the end.

A much clearer voice broke in then, "Cynder, you need to calm him down. Whatever you just said to him or he thought of himself, he's trying to move. That would usually be a good sign, but in his condition it would only make things worse."

Hurriedly she tried, "Spyro, what is 2 * 5?"

"what is this? One of Volteers pop math quizzes? Ten. Why are you asking me math questions when we need to stop Malefor?"

"We don't Spyro. We already did that. Do you remember what happened yesterday? Do you remember what you told me?"

"Wait. What? We already stopped him? But that can't be right. I just told you I love you, and you told me the same, and then went on to say how you wanted to help stop him from destroying the world." His face was now very confused.

"That's good Cynder. Keep it up. Is he feeling any warmer yet?"

"Not really, but his eyes are looking more normal. And he just started shivering again!" She said, dully excited at this small god turn.

"that's good. How much?"

"Only a little. Though it seems to be getting worse."

"Worse? Worse in what way?" he sounded slightly panicked at that.

"More violent. His pulse seems to be picking back up though."

He breathed a sigh of relief, "Violent is good. Means he's getting warmer. I guess this shelter really helped." At that, Cynder finally looked away from Spyro towards the Colonel and what he'd been doing. What she found was that he had actually molded the surrounding cave into something like an igloo around them. She stared in amazement when she saw the small pool of water in the floor that was also new. She looked at him and saw that he was currently preparing the deer he had brought in earlier. It was then that she realized he had somehow obtained a great variety of vegetation. When she asked where, and _when_, he got it, he simply said, "Most of it I already had on hand. Some of it I found nearby, but this," he said, holding up a plant that appeared to have been completely and cleanly uprooted from the ground, a pitcher plant she noticed from the distinct flower of it, "I was very lucky in finding. We call it Winter Warmth where I come from. It's commonly used in recipes during the winter months, as it can raise the body's core temperature at a nice even pace when ingested; if prepared correctly that is. It's also frequently used by doctors in treating hypothermia victims for that same reason." This last he said with a pointed grin at Spyro.

"If the shivering continues for another ten minutes it ought to be safe for him to start moving around a bit."

Over the next half hour, Cynder helped Spyro with his recovery while the Colonel prepared everyone's food. By the time it was all done cooking, Spyros shivering had greatly diminished as he continued to recover, and the Colonel pronounced he was well enough to eat.

Spyro, having recently recovered enough to realize that he was ravenous, was needless to say quite happy with the declaration. The mouthwatering smells throughout the shelter only served to increase his appetite, as well as everyone else's.

Knowing that they had greater need of the food than he, having had breakfast where they did not, he made sure that Spyros and Cynders portions were larger than his; having them share the larger of the two deer, a heavily gravid doe, while he took the much smaller fawn. Normally he would never have considered them, but in his haste he had only gone for the closest available prey. He had mostly taken the baby out of sympathy. It wouldn't have been able to survive long without its mothers protection anyway. So, in a gesture of apology, he recited a prayer in his head for its spirit over it, before he started eating.

A sudden chirping brought him back to reality, as well as distracting Spyro and Cynder from their long overdue meal. Berating himself for forgetting about her, he let Brass out of her saddlebag and, seeing that the two had mostly had their fill and were now eating much more calmly and methodically, decided it was finally time for introductions.

"Spyro, Cynder. I'd like you to meet Brass." He said to them gesturing to the small automaton.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder, finally able to see the yearling in some proper light, stared in puzzled astonishment. She seemed to be doing that an awful lot lately, she reflected to herself. She turned to see Spyros reaction to the small metal dragon, and found him to be slightly more intent on the inquisitive little creature than she, for the notable reason that it had decided to walk up to him and chirp questioningly right back at him.

"Well hello there." He said in a tone she had never heard him use before. It sounded almost, fatherly. He looked up at the older male and said, "She's beautiful. But, just what exactly _is_ she?"

The older male, rather pleased with the young purples response, replied, "I made her. She's a completely self-sufficient unit. She can eat, sleep, think for herself. She can even repair any damage done to her just like any natural born creature. She is, in every respect that I have thus far witnessed, alive. She is, you could say, my child of the mind. Conceived from my mind and born from my paws. She is three and a half weeks old now." He called her over to him and continued, "But as for what she is? I'm afraid I don't have a name for that yet."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was during all this that Spyro at last took the time to really look at this mysterious Colonel. The first, and most obvious, detail was his coloration. His upper body was a deep ochre red, with his underbelly being a dull mud brown. His wings were the same red as the rest of him, but the membrane between the fingers was a deep forest green. His crest was, in fact, three crests; all sprouting from the center of his brow, spanning back to the rear of his head in a shape reminiscent of the front of a crows foot. It, along with his horns that were shaped like smoother versions of his own, were a flat steel grey, as were the squat, long, pyramid shaped spines that lined his back and tail, which was tipped by a rather oddly shaped, steel grey, hammer-and-spike combination. Also present on all of his upper limbs, and both lower forelimbs, were the same pyramid shaped plates that were on his back. However his most distinctive feature, was his left eye. He had none. In its place was a not quite rectangular piece of what looked like metal, holding a glowing, round, red crystal.

Apparently sensing his eyes on the apparatus, the male put in, "An old hatchling injury. It actually got me into a special military project where they installed this pleasant artifice." Tapping the piece of metal where his eye ought to have been. "It works even better than my real eye. I can see minute details from up to twenty miles away with it. it even gives me a base amount of fire elemental control."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cynder couldn't take any more of this. It was driving her insane with the not knowing. She finally blurted out in her Generals voice, "I think it's time we had that _debriefing_, _**Colonel**_, that we talked about earlier. Don't you?"

His response was to sit at attention, though still grinning, and reply, "Of course, _Madame General_."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~*.=.*~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ^.=.^ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ '-.=.- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My name is Forge. I am currently tasked as envoy of my government to yours, and, more recently, as courier to the two of you from an acquaintance of yours. My former military rank was Colonel, and my most recent civilian rank is that of Master Smith." He waited for them to digest what he had just told them, and then continued, "Now that we have that out of the way finally, can you please return the favor telling me who the two of you are?"

Spyro, apparently not that fluent in military talk simply said, "I'm Spyro and this is Cynder, other than that there's not that much else to say. I mean we have no fancy ranks or titles like you do." He looked at her for confirmation. To his apparent surprise though, she responded in a fashion similar to Forges.

"I am former General Cynder of the Dark Armies. My titles have included the Terror of the Skies, among others. This is Spyro the Purple Dragon of Legend. Our most recent titles will probably be something along the lines of Saviors of the World, when we get back to Warfang and receive them if we do. What is your message courier?"

"While en route here from my country, I happened upon an island that was home to a friend of yours. The message is as follows: 'Ignitus says Hello from the White Isles' end of message." He waited for their response. It was as the old hermit had said. They were, most certainly, thrown for a loop.

**AN: okay, so that was Chapter 2. I'm on a ROLL! Now to clarify a few things. Brass is MINE! NO STEALING! GRRR! So are Forge, nodes, and the country of Ictharell. Oh! And if you can guess where i got the term 'ground sense', you'll get a cookie and a fluttershy yay ; ). Now, i may be pumping out chapters for the moment, but i'll only be able to really keep that up for the next couple weeks or so, as classes start back up on the 19th. So until next tim...**

**TTFN!**


End file.
